Pareidolia
Fanfic owned by 4pinkbear. What happens when you are born and abandoned? What happens when you live alone, a weak, young kit in The Forest of Everlasting Rain? Welcome to Hummingbird's world, full of misery and grief, alone in her little forest. Her favorite, and the only thing she holds close, is her interest in the moon. However, when a young kit named Olivia is thrown away by her twolegs and left to die in her woods, both of their lives are about to change. Maybe Hummingbird will find her own pareidolia among her new moon: Olivia. Chapter 1 It was hard being born for the tiny green kit. The cozy, warm place inside her mother was quickly deprived from her. She squeaked and whimpered as cold settled in as she slipped out. A tongue added warmth and air into her lungs. The kit's name was Hummingbird. She slowly squirmed to a gentle belly as she kneaded her tiny paws for milk. There was none. Emptiness filled her belly, but quickly ran out of fuel. She pushed harder for something to feed her-desperately, she clamped down with her needle-teeth, mewling and squealing hungrily. Her black-and-white paws were swatted backwards. She tumbled backwards, confused. She was only a starving kit. Soon, even the heat coming from her mother's belly had vanished. Something had left. She squirmed around, mewling for anything to drink, in the soft grass where her mother had been. The rays that kept the kit thriving quickly escaped the greenery. Something grabbed her by the scruff and pulled her up-she instinctively curled up in the grasp. For about 10 minutes she stayed curled as she bounced up and down, swerving back and forth in the grip, until finally, she was placed down on something cold and slippery. Ice. A shattering crack splintered through the air. Now it may seem cruel in nature, but Hummingbird's eyes and ears jutted open. A sudden surge of energy had forced her to grapple to the edge of the ice as it shot down the fairly sized river. Where was her mother? Where was she? She squealed for help, sinking her tiny thorn-like claws into the ice that had broken off with her on it. This was all too fast and too much for such a young kit. Everything was gone-a mother, warmth, food. She squeezed her eyes shut and wished to be curled asleep next to her sweet mother. Had her own cause of birth left her on the ice...purposely? The river slowed and bumped her off onto the side of a bank, squirming and mewling for milk on weak, stubby paws. She slowly swayed side to side as she walked stubbornly, crying for food. Then a strange orange creature came, with a black muzzle and white chest. A fox, she had later learned, it was. A fox who's pups were killed by a colony of cats. She narrowed her eyes at the innocent kit, and leapt forward, but skidded to a halt. This kit wouldn't harm anything. This kit could be use to her. She curled down, and swept her bushy tail over the kit, warming the poor thing and pulling it to her belly. Hummingbird suckled quietly and with pleasure. She didn't mind such a big creature becoming her new milk giver. Not one bit. Chapter 2 "You're five moons old now. I taught you how to hunt, too." a voice roughly barked. Hummingbird blinked with pride to her fox mother, Deztra. The unusual green kit puffed out her chest, standing tall. Deztra was proud of Hummingbird, even if the poor thing was a cat. She wished Hummingbird was a fox, too, but the others of her kind would shun her for her green pelt. Although this was sad for Deztra, she knew when the cat was 2 years old, she'd find a mate to let Hummingbird have her own kits, and then Deztra would have to leave. The reddish-ginger she-fox didn't let that fact that Hummingbird would have to leave her ruin her relationship. She padded along the ravine, the kit at her side, when she heard low growling from the edge of the woods. Hummingbird froze in place, her dark violet eyes jutted open, hazy and frightened. Deztra narrowed her eyes to get a better look, and slowly padded forward, pulling apart the leaves. Nothing was there. Had it been her imagination? No, it couldn't have. Hummingbird had heard it as well! The young motherly fox trodded up a steep hill. Hummingbird shook her head in a "no." and mewled something. Hummingbird was slow at speaking; 5 moons old and can't say a proper word! Deztra let out a purring-like sound and picked the kit up by the scruff, crooning, "It's alright, sweet fluttering Hummingbird," into her daughter's ear. She went up the grassy hill with precaution, her ears pricked up and, warily, she made it to the den. "Alright, Hummingbird. Speak. I know you can, but you don't say a word." Deztra barked, curling up. Hummingbird's eyes widened, like she was afraid to. "Don't be scared, words are as harmless as the grass." Deztra persisted. She sighed and rested her head down. Hummingbird finally shook her head and mewed, "They are?" The green kit spread out her little green wings. These wings were tipped with black and white, and feather as an eagle at dawn. Hummingbird squealed in delight, fluttering upwards, only to smack against the roof. "OOMPH!" Deztra snuffed in amusement, then curled Hummingbird close. "Storytime, mama?" "Yes. Once, long ago, lay a gentle kingdom..." Deztra sang quietly. Hummingbird's eyes widened, a smile slowly creeping on her face. "Foxes and cats were at peace. However, one fox, with a midnight pelt, cast a curse on the forest... The Forest of Everlasting Rain..." ''the fox hummed darkly. Her kit flattened her ears. "Who was the fox mama?" ''"His name was Shadow for his dark fur, his green eyes turned as blue as the rain. He lurked in the dark 'till the time was right, and then cursed every cat clan." Hummingbird gasped and shrunk down, green fur glittering, wings flattened against her sides. "Once a prophecy fluttered and pondered, of a cat who would fly with peace on their wings, Restoring the beauty throughout the land, '' ''So the foxes and cats searched and searched, Fighting in wars smearing blood on their grass... But finally, a hope, a wish, a dream, Shadow died, but left the fights behind..." She hummed a sort bit, but was too tired to continue. Hummingbird's eyes fluttered briefly, before she fell asleep at her mother's orange belly. Deztra's eyes gently closed. "Goodnight, Prophecized One." Chapter 3 Hummingbird again felt nothing but the cold wind from the constantly raining forest. Warmth was gone. She stretched open her eyes. A light grey cloud hovered above the forest, the raindrops nothing but a drizzle. The green kit realized she'd been shoved into a corner of the den during her sleep. Clawmarks and blood raked the floor. "Mama?" she called. The air was damp. A foul scent hit her nostrils. She scrunched her dark grey nose. Deztra lay in the clearing outside the earthbound den. Hummingbird purred in amusement, her tiny wings flapping with a light hum. Her paws slightly lifted into the air, hovering gently above the surface as she made a foot closer, then she stopped and ran up to her fox-mother. "Deztra! Wake up!" she squeaked, nudging her with her nose. Deztra didn't move. Hummingbird padded around, to look into Deztra's clouded amber eyes. They looked in pain. "Are you hurt, mommy?" There was blood rippling down Deztra's white throat, three neat claw marks and two puncture wounds. Deztra's jaw was parted open, and hung from her face in a horrible fashion. Hummingbird's eyes widened in horror. She took a step back. "N-no! Mama!" she shrieked, tears trickling down her face. Deztra was dead. Chapter 4 Leaf-bare comes. Hummingbird prowls across the snowbound forest, eyes glittering, green pelt rippling with muscles. She flaps her wings, stunning the mouse she pursues with a gust of wind. It looses its grip to the blast of air, flying backwards and smacking against the tree. Hard. Its tiny back makes a sharp snap, and it's dead. She hungrily eats the warm, tasty mouse. She's been living alone for 7 moons since the spring her adoptive mother died. You could say Hummingbird was slowly turning into a fox herself. A hunter, with fur jagged from hostility, hairs always on end, sharp eyes. Hummingbird: Fox-cat. Swiftly, she buries the bones of her prey, violet eyes narrow. Her ears flicker, as if yearning for Deztra's lullabies. "Deep in the meadow, under the willow A bed of grass, a soft green pillow Lay down your head, and close your sleepy eyes And when again they open, the sun will rise. Here it's safe, here it's warm Here the daisies guard you from every harm Here your dreams are sweet and tomorrow brings them true Here is the place where I love you. Deep in the meadow, hidden far away A cloak of leaves, a moonbeam ray Forget your woes and let your troubles lay And when again it's morning, they'll wash away. Here it's safe, here it's warm Here the daisies guard you from every harm Here your dreams are sweet and tomorrow brings them true Here is the place where I love you. Here is the place where I love you." The melody rang in her ears, dribbles of grief filling her heart.The eerie memory of clan cats sent anger through her. "Chosen one? Raised by the fleabag we killed? Horrendus. Join us and we'll take over every clan and fox pack in the forest!"' "Never! Deztra may have been a fox, but she was twice the mother my clan mother ever gave me! She didn't abandon me, my mother did!" That's when Hummingbird's birth mother bared her teeth, silver claws flashing. "I gave you up to toughen you up!"' Hummingbird fought for her life. Her mother gasped as the claws ripped across her face. Hummingbird's green pelt streaked with blood as she attacked the clan cats. "You will never be my mother! EVER!"' Hummingbird's mother gasped at the blood welling out of her eye socket. She put a leaf over her missing eye, tears falling out of her other one.' "Fine, I gave you up because I loved you!"' She pelted away, Hummingbird baring her teeth, wings flapping.' "Liar!"'She quickly flew away, angered with herself and her birth family. Hummingbird narrowed her eyes."My mother Featherwillow with her stupid clan name and stupid clanmates." she meowed contemptly, heading back to her den. Chapter 5 A crying wail of a kit. Hummingbird froze in the bushes by the Thunderpath as the monster, with twolegs inside, spewed out a kit, who cried in pain, hitting the snow covered ground hard. The twolegs spat something, a twoleg kit cried, but the monster hid the pink fleshy creatures as it rumbled down the road. The kit sat there. It was just a few weeks old, just weaned by the looks of it. Hummingbird turned to leave it behind, but flattened her ears. Her mother had abandoned her as a newborn. She knew how loss felt. "There there..." She padded out sympathetically, remembering Deztra, and wrapped her tail around the kit. "Shh, it's okay, it's okay..." The kit looked at her with round, teary blue eyes. "Where'd they go? I want my mother back." she whimpered. Hummingbird felt a stabbing pang of grief. "I will never replace your mother, but I'll take very good care of you. What's your name?" Hummingbird mewed, her green fur smoothing. "O-olivia." Hummingbird tried not to scrunch her nose in the distaste of the former kittypet's name. "I'm Hummingbird. I promise, I'll never abandon you..." Chapter 6 Olivia and Hummingbird darted across ThunderClan territory, the clan patrol chasing her out to a fishy-scented land. "Be RiverClan's problem!" Featherwillow spat, where her missing eye was gave Hummingbird a sense of dignity. "Chase out your own blood, eh, Featherwillow?" "I don't care if you're mine or not, your green fur is unnatural and disturbing!" "I find it fashionable." Hummingbird purred. Olivia purred in amusement, tauntingly glaring at Featherwillow's drab, scarred face. "At least Hummingbird's not covered in scars." Olivia mewed, amber eyes flashing. Her black pelt rippled with muscles, the 7-moon-old cat who had once been a mewling ball of fur had made a place in her friend's heart. The two laughed and hurried away, the fresh-caught mice warm in their jaws as they ripped it open. "That'll keep them savage, just the way we hate 'em." the midnight she-cat mewed. "Don't forget I was born to those creeps." Hummingbird replied, green wings flapping. "Yes, Birdy." Birdy was Hummingbird's nickname, given to her by Olivia. Olivia had a funny way of speaking, had issue with M's, so Birdy stuck. Suddenly, there was a hiss, and Hummingbird was face-to-face with 3 clan cats. "Who are you?" "Why are you here?" They snarled, baring snaggly yellow teeth. One stuck his face up to hers, his disgusting fishbreath making her scowl. "I'm Hummingbird, this is my friend Olivia." Only seconds later she realised she was standing in front of the leader, who forced her groupies aside. The leader's eyes widened. "The Chosen One!" she gasped. Hummingbird coughed. "Excuse me?" she meowed in amusement. "You...you fit the description." she meowed, then shook her head. "I need to introduce myself. I'm Mintstar, leader of RiverClan." the silvery white she-cat purred, green eyes flickering with pride. "Long ago there was a prophecy that a cat born green as the trees would fly and give peace to our forest." Mintstar explained. "You, Hummingbird. I want you to stay with us for a while-" "Only if Olivia stays with me." "Yes, fine. You will be a warrior, and Olivia can be your apprentice, if she takes a clan name." Hummingbird looked at Olivia. "If you don't want to Olivia, we won't stay." Hummingbird meowed to her friend, anxious for her to say no. The apprentice shook her head. "Then I'll be Midnightpaw." Olivia meowed, eyes wide. Hummingbird couldn't read her emotions. "Hummingbird, you'll be-" "I want to keep my name, sounds clan enough." the green she-cat snarled, wings flared out. "Very well." Mintstar dipped her blue-gray head with a curtious nod, leading them through the brambles. The rain kept going on, as every day did. The sound of a soft river flowing, sodden, relaxing grass, thick trees in the marshy land. It was like home to Hummingbird. She closed her eyes, following Mintstar's scent, to remember the longing to be at the hollow back home, curled against Deztra's soft, warm fur... Chapter 7 Several moons passed. "Midnightpaw, go hunt with Icehawk. I need to talk to Shadowstorm." Midnightpaw nodded, amber eyes sparkling. "The deputy? Wow, Hummingbird! See you soon!" The black-pelted she-cat hurried away, white paws skimming the fresh green grass. Hummingbird waited until she was gone, then love fluttered in her heart as she padded in the bushes, her mate's scent fresh on her nose. "Shadowstorm~" she mewed, ready to tell him her excited news. The tom looked up, that's when she smelled blood on his paws. Her heart skipped a beat. "Mousefang's blood. I smell it. Is she hurt?" Hummingbird meowed, her green pelt bristling with fear. Shadowstorm's eyes narrowed. "More than that." he mewed, tipping his head. Hummingbird's eyes widened, she took a step back, noticing blood staining him everywhere. His eyes widened too. "Hummingbird, listen. It's to start the war with the clans-you can help us rule them all!" he meowed to his mate. His white-spotted midnight pelt stood out in the bright sun. He smiled. She gulped, not knowing if she knew him anymore. She looked down at her stomach and then the ground, shuffling her paws. She hurried away, panicking. "Wait! Hummingbird!" Her wings sprawled out, and her lime paws lifted into the air. Her black-and-white tipped feathers glided into the wind. She tried to focus, worried about her future now. His angry words filled her head, scaring her to the core. She landed swiftly in the soft camp, gasping for air. "What's wrong?" Icehawk mewed. He and Midnightpaw had just returned from hunting. "Shadowstorm killed Mousefang!" she meowed frantically. Icehawk looked up mournfully and angrily. Mousefang had been his mother. "Bluewillow! Wolfspirit! Jadefoot! Bring him to camp!" Mintstar yowled from the Marsh Branch. The three young warriors hurried away, paws thudding against the ground. "Hummingbird, are you alright? He try to kill you too?" "He'll be gone by the time they get there. And no, he didn't." Hummingbird snarled. "Shadowstorm, he'll be off to ShadowClan, then to ThunderClan and WindClan, rally a fight." "Then we'll set you, Chosen One, on the battle line. You're the only one who can stop him." "Yes, Mintstar." Chapter 8 Shadowstorm had successfully rallied up his army. Hummingbird stared down at her two kits. Both had wings. One was a dark grey-and-black tabby she-kit. The other was a bright green she-kit with white patches. "They're beautiful." Midnightfeather meowed joyfully, nuzzling her friend. "They're his. I hate him." Hummingbird snarled, curling her lip, green fur bristling. "Are you going to name them?" the black she-cat persisted, remaining calm. "The grey and black one shall be Birdkit, and the other shall be Grasskit." the new mother meowed. "You're going into battle tomorrow." "So are you." "You want to change your mind?" "They'll be fine, Dawnspider can nurse them while I'm gone. Then I'll be back. I have to make peace. It is my destiny." Hummingbird tiredly replied, settling her wings over her kits, holding them close, as if to shield them from the horrible bad of her world. Midnightfeather didn't leave, her eyes clouding over in sympathy suddenly. "Hummingbird, does Shadowstorm know you have his kits?" she mewed. "No." And with that, her friend left through the brown brambles, allowing the mother to sleep. Chapter 9 It tore Hummingbird to leave them. She didn't want them to experience how she'd been: Motherless. But the green she-cat flapped her wings, determined to save the clans. "It's RiverClan and WindClan against the other two." Mintstar meowed. "I know." Hummingbird trotted, leading the way to the edge of her territory. WindClan appeared, lead by the sandy-gray Moorstar, who nodded. Hummingbird dipped her head back. "The chosen one has arrived to save us before it is too late. The prophecy is true." "Yes. I am here. StarClan has chosen me and I have sworn to Mintstar I will save us all." Midnightfeather pressed against Hummingbird, who suddenly had a pang of grief. What if her friend died and Hummingbird lived? She'd raised this lovable cat. Icehawk would be in grief too. Icehawk and Midnightfeather were mates. Icehawk's pale grey pelt and Mintstar's silver-white padded up next to them. "Well if it isn't the pitiful moor cats and the fish-faced winged cat who's supposed to 'save the clans?'" Shadowstorm mewed, he and his army appearing from the green forest sidelines. The storm was like icy needles pricking the cats' fur. "Yes. We are. Windriver, attack!" she yowled. The cats lunged into screeching, furious fighting. Hummingbird smacked a tom backwards with her wings, blowing him into a tree, remembering her first mouse after Deztra died. He hissed as his back snapped, rendering him unable to fight. "Drag yourself to a medicine cat if you make it. Don't fight with the Chosen One." she meowed sympathetically. He nodded, thankful for not being killed, as he slowly dragged himself away, golden tail sagging to the ground. Her tail swished against the ground, eyes wide as Midnightfeather fought back-to-back with Icehawk, both hissing in triumph as they sent cats fleeing back to their territories, pelts with barely any scratches. They purred happily for a brief moment. Hummingbird flew above them briefly, yearning that Shadowstorm would've been like that. He loved her, yes, at a time, but lost her trust when she told the clan of his murderous intentions. She blew some cats crowding Mintstar away, fighting them off teeth-and-claw, their blood spilling the ground until they streaked away. Mintstar lay on the ground, unmoving. Hummingbird froze in fear. "Deztra! MOMMY!" Hummingbird screamed, desperately shaking her mother's ginger pelt with a paw. "Don't leave me! Don't leave me alone!" "Mintstar, don't leave me alone here! Please." she meowed, worry and grief filling her eyes. She shook her pelt. Suddenly, Mintstar's blue grey ears perked upwards, the life returning to her eyes. Hummingbird panted, prodding her gently. "I lost...I lost a life..." Mintstar gasped, slowly getting up. Hummingbird batted back a she-cat who lunged at her, hissing and clawing until the cat screeched and ran off. "Mintstar, we have to kill the heads of this fight: Thrushstar, Shadowstorm, and Dawnstar. It is the only way." Hummingbird meowed grimly. Mintstar nodded, grave expression filling her eyes. "We have to." They nodded in agreement, hurrying off. Chapter 10 Hummingbird looked up, meeting eye-to-eye with the silver Thrushstar, who sneered, sinking his claws into Bluewillow's throat. The she-cat died instantly, life cutting out of her and spilling all over the ground. "You're no better leader!" Hummingbird snapped at his heels, chasing him towards the brambles until he whipped around, kicking her in the face. She stumbled backwards, but then blew a gust of wind to knock him backwards. "You made my birth mother insane! You made everyone corrupt!" "For a good cause-so I could rule the forest." he sneered, showing his bloodstained teeth. Hummingbird lunged forward, tackling him to the ground. "You didn't succeed then." she whispered in his ear, forcing her paw down hard on his neck, snapping the bone. A sharp crack told her he was almost instantly killed off. She saw her mother, staring at her with relief. "You finally freed me." she meowed, eye round with sympathy. Hummingbird snapped, "You were never there for me, don't think you're my mom now!" She lifted her wings, sending a hasty breeze at Featherwillow, and leapt away, back into the furious screeching battlefield stained with blood. Mintstar crashed into her on the way. "Dawnstar's dead." "Thrushstar is too." "Only Shadowstorm remains. I'm leaving him to you. I have to help Icehawk." Then an agonized screech made Hummingbird's heart lurch. The scream was Midnightfeather's. Chapter 11 "Get off of her!" Hummingbird roared, knocking the tom who had sank his teeth into the small black she-cat's neck away. She grabbed his silver neck and smacked it hard against the ground, breaking it. Midnightfeather's eyes were clouded over. "No! Don't leave me alone! Please!" Hummingbird wailed, her violet eyes trying to hold back sobs. Midnightfeather lay still as a stone. She was dead. "Hello, pretty parakeet." The green she-cat flared her wings out, whipping around viciously. "Shadowstorm." she snarled, narrowing her eyes. "You had her killed. You had so many lives lost." "Yes, to bring the clans together." he snapped. She lunged forward, only to get smacked down. She hit him in the gut with her wings, then kicked him off, flipping back to her bloodstained paws. She loomed over him with bared teeth, ready to kill, but he rolled out of the way. "Idiot!" she grunted, leaping into the air and landing on his back, pulling out tufts of fur with her clawtips. He struggled, thrashing until she bit down on his tail. Shadowstorm shrieked, Hummingbird hissing in triumph, as he dragged her against the sand. In pain, she let go, for him to pin her down. "The time for the death of the chosen one has come!" he snapped. "Wait-Shadowstorm..." she gasped. "What?" he snapped, white-spotted midnight fur gleaming in the moonlight. "We have kits." Hummingbird meowed. Then a gray tom cut her throat. Chapter 12 "N-no!" he shrieked, smacking the tom backwards. Hummingbird moaned, gasping for air as her scarlet life bled out. "Hummingbird, don't die." he whimpered, ears flattening, tail between his hindlegs. He crouched down next to her. "It is destiny..." she mewed, not seeming to be bothered. "Tell me about our kits." he meowed sadly. "You have two healthy daughters. Grasskit and Birdkit." she purred, ears flicking. She let out one last gasp, then her grass-green sides stilled, a tear trickling out of her violet eyes. The chosen one. Was dead. Shadowstorm turned on Mintstar. "This....is your fault!" he spat, flexing his claws and lunging. The silver-white she-cat narrowed her eyes, grabbing a sharp rock and stabbing him in the throat. He let out a bloodcurdling scream, twisting and jerking awkwardly, but she held the rock in tight. Blood pooled from his mouth. He continued to scream, until she let go, making him flop to the ground. Shadowstorm was gone. "Cats of all clans! Many cats died today over useless fighting! The rain has ended!" They all looked up. It was-for the first time in their lives, ever, sunny. They gasped at the warmth flooding their pelts. "This is a sign from StarClan-unite as one! The Chosen One may have died but her spirit lives on-in her two kits! We are free! We are the cats of the lake! We are LakeClan!" she finished in yowl, purring in delight. "LakeClan! LakeClan! LakeClan!" Chapter 13 Hummingbird saw sunshine everywhere. Familiar scents flooded her nose. Happiness. At last. Pain hit her for a throbbing second, as a glowing golden spirit split from her. The Chosen One nodded to her. "You completed your destiny. Your Chosen Spirit will live on...in your kits." it mewed with a smile. Hummingbird watched awestruck as it zoomed away from the battlefield. "Mintstar! We're finally one clan!" she mewed, standing next to the leader. But the silver-white leader didn't hear her. She reached a paw out, realising it went right through her body. She leaped down, staring at Midnightfeather again, who rose up. "Look!" Mintstar yowled, jabbing at Hummingbird's direction. Stars shimmered down. Hummingbird knew exactly what this meant. Time to go home. She nodded in their direction, before bounding into the starlight and finding herself in a meadow, a younger cat again. "Hummingbird!" Her eyes widened in delight and she let out a squeak. "Deztra!" she squealed, bounding up and nuzzling her adoptive mother. "Deztra, don't ever leave me again!" she wailed, tears of joy flooding her eyes. They began to fade. "I won't. I promise." Fading to their new home. Where they belong. Author's Note I finally finished one of my first stories that wasn't part of my Richtofen Series :) What'd you think? Time for my favorite time, QUESTION TIME 8D! ---- Q: Why did you kill Deztra off? A: Deztra needed to die in order for Hummingbird to move on to the clans and fulfil her destiny. .::. Q: How did Deztra know the prophecy, or how Shadow looked? A: Be patient, Deztra's Story will reveal it all. .::. Q: Why were Shadowstorm and Hummingbird mates? A: To give a reason for Shadowstorm ''not ''to be the one to kill her. I love tragic love stories